The Day Nym Met The Sun

Nym wandered aimlessly through the corridors of the House.  The Great House is All, Worship of the Goddess is All, The Family is All...  Lessons she had learned the hard way.  Small and forsaken among the older women of the House, Nym went to the chapel to pray.  Nym went there often these days, ever since Myan-Myan died.  every night she woke up screaming, an image of the dying Myan-myan, the blood pouring out of his mouth as he smiled and whispered his last words, a message for his best...and only...friend.1

Nym knelt down in the chapel, and prayed to the Goddess.   Give me strength, Great Lady of the Shadows... she prayed.  Let me see why Myan-myan's death was necessary, why did he have to go?  Was it my overbearing arrogance and stupidity?  Or was there a reason, my Goddess?  Sighing, she got up, knowing there would be no answer.  There never was an answer.  It seemed the Lady of Shadows only had time for the powerful clerics of the House, not a silly little girl.  There was a noise behind her, and when Nym turned around, she saw the shadows of the gray altar dance and writhe for a moment, then coalesce into a beautiful, if somewhat transparent, woman with ebony skin, quite naked, wearing a crown of spiders.2

"Little Daughter, thou art angry with me, I see."  said the vague apparition.  Nym wa so shocked that she couldn't believe her eyes.  The one and only Empress of Spiders had appeared to her!  After a moment, she swallowed nervously and said, "Yes, oh, Great One.  I am angry with you."  The Queen smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile...it was a smile of malice, of hate, of cruelty.  "Little Daughter,it was only a male.  What purpose did it serve thee?  Perhaps thou wished to wait until thineself were older so that a lover thou wouldst possess, hmmm?"  These words were said with some amusement.3

Nym took them personally.4

"No!"  she snapped defensively.  "You are a Bad Queen, I see that now.  Myan-myan's death will not be in vain!  He died because I couldn't see it, could not see the hate that festers here, that spills into every dark elf's heart when she worships you!  I will not BE CONTROLLED!"  As she screamed the last two words, she threw the brazier near her, the one that provided heat to the chapel, at the Queen. The Lady smirked and vanished, leaving a horde or serpents and spiders in her wake.  5

Nym fled for her life, for it was forbidden to kill these creatures of the Goddess,  control or no control.  When she was too tired to collapse, she passed out in blackness.6

And awoke on the surface world.  It was nighttime, so the light was bright to her, but tolerable, but in amasement she eyed the new surroundings.  Who had put her here?  Why had they put her here? When would the great ball of fire rise and scorch the remants of her soul?  She shuddered.  She knew who had put her there.  The Goddess had, because she had lost the Lady's favor.7

But when the sun rose, Nym was glad.  Glad that she could finally throw off the shackles of hate and stupidity, could choose what path she wanted, even if in the end, it ended in darkess. There was no hate in the strange winged animals, or the fish, or the odd things called trees.  there was no Queen here.8

Only life.9